Olympic Table Tennis

Table tennis, which also known as Ping-Pong is the second most played sport in the world, beat only by soccer. Table tennis is a form of tennis played on a special table rather than on a tennis court. Table tennis rackets looks like paddles, and the table tennis ball which is about the size of a golf ball, is smooth, hollow, very light, and bounces easily on the hard table top.
The table upon which table tennis is played is rectangular and of a dark color, usually green, with a white sideline along each side and edge. The playing surface is divided into 2 equal courts by a low, vertical net running parallel to the edges, suspended by clamped posts located midway on each side. The net is about 6 inches (15.25cm) high.

Each of the two courts is divided yet again by a white center line running perpendicular to the net, or parallel with the sides. This creates 2 half-courts on each side, used when playing doubles, or 2 to a team.
Rackets are circular in shape with a short handle, made mostly of wood, and are flat. The prominent surface is covered with evenly-pimpled rubber, but the blade of the racket is left exposed, as is the handle. In table tennis if a player opts to switch to a new racket in a game, the player must offer the new racket to his or her opponent for examination before resuming the game.

To begin a game the server drops the ball to the table allowing it to bounce, then strikes the ball so that it first hits in his court before passing over the net to strike the opponent's court. The ball must not take any part of the net on a serve or the serve is invalid.
To return the serve, the receiver strikes the ball so that it passes over or around the net to land on the opposite side of the table. It may swipe the net as long as it passes over.
When the ball is in play it is referred to as a rally. Points are scored when the server fails to make good on a serve, or when the receiver misses a good serve or is unable to return it successfully. Likewise, once the serve and return are successful, whoever breaks the rally by missing the ball, hitting it into the net, or failing to strike the opponent's court on the return, is penalized by donation the opponent 1 point.
The first person or team to rack up 11 points wins, unless the score becomes tied at 10 points each. In this case the first to reach a 2-point lead wins. A match consists of winning the best of any odd number of games.

The game originated as a sport in Britain during the 1880s, where it was played among the upper-class as an after-dinner parlour game. In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official World Championships in 1926. In 1933, the United States Table Tennis Association, now called USA Table Tennis, was formed. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988.
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Penhold Grip in Table Tennis and Olympic Table Tennis Tickets

The penhold grip is so-named because one grips the racket similarly to the way one holds a writing instrument. The style of play among penhold players can vary greatly from player to player. The most popular style, usually referred to as the Chinese penhold style, involves curling the middle, ring, and fourth finger on the back of the blade with the three fingers always remain touching one another.

Chinese penholders favor a round racket head, for a more over the table style of play. In contrast, another style, sometimes referred to as the Korean penhold grip, involves splaying those three fingers out across the back of the racket, usually with all three fingers touching the back of the racket, rather than stacked upon one another. Sometimes a combination of two styles occur, where in the middle, ring and fourth fingers are straight, but still stacked, or where all fingers may be touching the back of the racket, but are also in contact with one another. Korean penholders will often use a square-headed racket for an away from the table style of play. Traditionally these square-headed rackets feature a block of cork on top of the handle, as well as a thin layer of cork on the back of the racket, for increased grip and comfort. Penhold styles are popular among players originating from East Asian regions such as China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

Traditionally, penhold players use only one side of the racket to hit the ball during normal play, and the side which is in contact with the last three fingers is generally not used. This configuration is sometimes referred to as "traditional penhold" and is more commonly found in square-headed racket styles. However, the Chinese developed a technique in the 1990s in which a penholder uses both sides of the racket to hit the ball, where the player produces a backhand stroke by turning the traditional side of the racket to face one's self, and striking the ball with the opposite side of the racket. This stroke has greatly improved and strengthened the penhold style both physically and psychologically, as it eliminates the strategic weakness of the traditional penhold backhand.

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Table Tennis Offensive Strokes and Olympic Table Tennis Tickets

A direct hit on the ball propelling it forward back to the opponent. This stroke differs from speed drives in other racket sports like tennis because the racket is primarily perpendicular to the direction of the stroke and most of the energy applied to the ball results in speed rather than spin, creating a shot that does not arc much, but is fast enough that it can be difficult to return. A speed drive is used mostly for keeping the ball in play, applying pressure on the opponent, and potentially opening up an opportunity for a more powerful attack.

Perfected during the 1960s, the loop is essentially the reverse of the speed drive. The racket is much more parallel to the direction of the stroke "closed" and the racket thus grazes the ball, resulting in a large amount of topspin. A good loop drive will arc quite a bit, and once striking the opponent's side of the table will jump forward, much like a kick serve in tennis. A loop drive might not be as difficult to return as a speed drive; however, because of its topspin, it is more likely to rebound off the opponent's racket at a very high angle, setting up an easy smash on the follow up. As the loop drive requires a lot of topspin, players generally use their entire body to generate the movement required. Variations in spin and speed add to the effectiveness of this shot.

The counter-drive is usually a counterattack against drives, normally high loop drives. The racket is held closed and near to the ball, which is hit with a short movement "off the bounce" so that the ball travels faster to the other side. A well timed, accurate counter drive can be as effective as a smash. When a player tries to attack a ball that has not bounced beyond the edge of the table, the player does not have the room to wind up in a backswing. The ball may still be attacked, however, and the resulting shot is called a flick because the backswing is compressed into a quick wrist action. A flick is not a single stroke and can resemble either a drive or a loop in its characteristics. What identifies the stroke is the backswing is compressed into a short wrist flick.

The offensive trump card in table tennis is the smash. A player will typically execute a smash when his or her opponent has returned a ball that bounces too high or too close to the net. Smashing is essentially self explanatory large backswing and rapid acceleration imparting as much speed on the ball as possible. The goal of a smash is to get the ball to move so quickly that the opponent simply cannot return it. Because the ball speed is the main aim of this shot, often the spin on the ball is something other than topspin. Sidespin can be used effectively with a smash to alter the ball's trajectory significantly, although most intermediate players will smash the ball with little or no spin. An offensive table tennis player will think of a rally as a build up to a winning smash; only a calculated series of smashes can guarantee a point against a good opponent. However, most players will be able to return at most one or two smashes consistently. Provided that the opponent is not too close to the table or too far away from the ball, a smash can be lobbed, chopped, blocked or even counter looped, albeit with some difficulty. A player, who smashes generally works out a series of smashes to rush the opponent out of position, put him off balance, or both. Smashers who fail to do this find it difficult to win a point against an excellent defense.

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Table Tennis Dimensions and Olympic Table Tennis Tickets

The Table should be 2,740mm long, 1525 wide and 769mm high. Or if you want that in inches 9 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 30 inches high.

The net dimensions should be 15.25 cm high and should go all the way down to the table and then for the length, it should be long enough so that the outside limits of the net where it connects to the posts are 15.25 cm outside the side line which is the edge of the table. The ball should be 40mm in diameter and weigh 2.7g. OK so that’s about all there is when it comes to Olympic Table Tennis dimensions. Oh and the paddle can be any size or weight, just make sure that the blade is flat and rigid.

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ExCel London and Olympic Table Tennis Tickets

ExCeL London is abbreviation of Exhibition Centre London. ExCel is an exhibitions and conference centre in the London Borough of New ham, England. It is located on a 100 acre site on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock in London Docklands, between Canary Wharf and London City Airport.

The centre was built by Sir Robert Mc Alpine, opened in November 2000, and in May 2008, was acquired by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company. Phase II was completed on 1 May 2010. This £164m expansion increased ExCeL's event space by 50% and added further meeting space, banqueting facilities, and event space. The extension also includes a flexible 5,000 seat International Conference Centre.

The Royal Victoria Dock closed to commercial traffic in 1981, but it is still accessible to shipping. The centre's waterfront location is used when it hosts the annual London Boat Show, with visiting vessels able to moor alongside the centre; for example the 2005 show was visited by HMS Sutherland The exhibition building itself consists of two column-free, rectangular, sub dividable halls of approximately 479,493 square feet each on either side of a central boulevard containing catering facilities and information points. There are also three sets of function rooms, one overlooking the water, another above the western end of the central boulevard, and the third on the north side of the building. These are used for smaller meetings, seminars, presentations, and corporate hospitality. There are 5 hotels, more than 30 bars and restaurants, plus 3700 parking spaces on the campus. In April 2009, ExCeL played host to the 2009 G20 London summit.

ExCeL London has hosted numerous consumer and trade, private and public events including exhibitions, conferences, concerts, weddings and religious events since its opening in 2000. Among these have been London Boat Show, British International Motor Show, Grand Designs Live, Carole Nash MCN Motorcycle Show, The MCM Expo, London International Music Show, Star Wars Celebration Europe, London Marathon registration, World Travel Market, London Wine & Spirits Fair, The Clothes Show London, The Dive Show, and Global Peace and Unity Event.

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Table Tennis Service and Olympic Table Tennis Tickets

In game play, the player serving the ball commences a play. The server first stands with the ball held on the open palm of the hand not carrying the racket, called the freehand, and tosses the ball directly upward without spin, at least 16 centimeters high. 

The server strikes the ball with the racket on the ball's descent so that it touches first his court and then touches directly the receiver's court without touching the net assembly. In casual games, many players do not toss the ball upward; however, this is technically illegal and can give the serving player an unfair advantage.

The ball must remain behind the end line and above the upper surface of the table, known as the playing surface, at all times during the service. The server cannot use his body or clothing to obstruct sight of the ball; the opponent and the umpire must have a clear view of the ball at all times. If the umpire is doubtful of the legality of a service they may first interrupt play and give a warning to the server. If the serve is a clear failure or is doubted again by the umpire after the warning, receiver scores a point.

If the service is "good", then the receiver must make a "good" return by hitting the ball back before it bounces a second time on receiver's side of the table so that the ball passes the net and touches the opponent's court, either directly or after touching the net assembly. Thereafter, the server and receiver must alternately make a return until the rally is over. Returning the serve is one of the most difficult parts of the game, as the server's first move is often the least predictable and thus most advantageous shot due to the numerous spin and speed choices at his or her disposal.

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Table Tennis Rackets and Olympic Table Tennis Tickets

Players are equipped with a laminated wooden racket covered with rubber on one or two sides depending on the grip of the player. The official ITTF term is racket though bat is common in Britain, and paddle in the U.S.

The wooden portion of the racket, often referred to as the "blade", commonly features anywhere between one and seven plies of wood, though cork, glass fiber, carbon fiber, aluminum fiber, and Kevlar are sometimes used. There are no restrictions on a blade's composition except that it be at least 85% natural wood. Common wood types include Balsa, Limba, and Cypress or "Hinoki," which is popular in Japan. The average size of the blade is about 16.5 cm long and 15 cm wide. Although there are no official restrictions on the shape or size of the blade itself, these dimensions are optimal for most play styles.

Table tennis regulations allow different surfaces on each side of the racket. Various types of surfaces provide various levels of spin or speed, and in some cases they nullify spin. For example, a player may have a rubber that provides much spin on one side of his racket, and one that provides no spin on the other. By flipping the racket in play, different types of returns are possible. To help a player distinguish between the rubbers used by his opposing player, international rules specify that one side must be red while the other side must be black. The player has the right to inspect his opponent's racket before a match to see the type of rubber used and what color it is. Despite high speed play and rapid exchanges, a player can see clearly what side of the racket was used to hit the ball. Current rules state that, unless damaged in play, the racket cannot be exchanged for another racket at any time during a match.

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